Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon him)
"We have not sent you (O Muhammad) but as a universal (Messenger) to men giving them glad tidings and warning them (against sin) but most men understand not." (Quran: 34/28)
"Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much." Allah’s Messenge
r to the Whole Mankind
Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h was Allah's great Prophet and Messenger like Jesus, the Son of Mary. The Prophet's mission, however, is universal. meaning: (the Exalted, Most Glorious) tells mankind that Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) is no more than a Messenger (Quran: 3/144), the unlettered Prophet who believes in Him and His Words (Quran 7/158). He is the Seal of the Prophets and the true universal Messenger of Allah to the whole mankind (Quran: 33/40). makes this very clear:
"We have not sent you (O Muhammad) but as a universal (Messenger) to men giving them glad tidings and warning them (against sin) but most men understand not." (Quran: 34/28)
The Messenger (p.b.u.h.) possesses an exalted (standard of) character (Quran 68/4) and an excellent exemplar for him who hopes in Allah (S.W.T.) and the Final Day, and who remembers Allah (S.W.T.) endowed him with exalted standard of character for us to follow. Every aspect of his life has been fully dealt with, providing complete guidance to the whole mankind. For our guidance, Allah (S.W.T.) commands us to believe and obey His Messenger (p.b.u.h.):
"Say (O Muhammad to mankind): ‘If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow Quran and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ Say (O Muhammad): ‘Obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad).’ But if they turn away, then Allah does not like the disbelievers." (Quran: 3/31)
"O mankind! Verily, there has come to you the Messenger (Muhammad) with the truth from your Rabb (Sustainer, Lord). So believe in him, it is better for you. But if you disbelieve, then certainly to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. And Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise." (Quran: 4/170)
"O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger (Muhammad) and render not vain your deeds." (Quran: 47/33)
It is a must that we obey Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.). tells us that he who obeys His Messenger (p.b.u.h.) obeys Him:
"He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad) has indeed obeyed Allah, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you (Muhammad) as a watcher over them." (Quran: 4/80)
Allah (S.W.T.) sent His Messenger with Guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religions. He says:
"It is He (Allah) Who has sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth that he may proclaim it over all religion even though the Pagans may detest (it)." (Quran: 61/9)
Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) being the True Messenger of Allah (S.W.T.) not only sincerely believes and testifies to the Oneness of Allah, the Only True God, Who Alone deserves all praises and true worship, but also teaches the same universal message. In one of his teachings we learn how he teaches us to glorify and testify Allah (S.W.T.) as True:
“Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that when the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) got up at night to offer the Tahajjud (midnight) prayer, he used to say: “O Allah! All the praises are for you. You are the Holder of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is in them. All the praises are for You. You have the possession of the heavens and the earth and whatever is in them. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and all the praises are for You. You are the King of the heavens and the earth and all the praises are for You. You are the Truth and Your Promise is the truth, and to meet You is true. Your Word is the truth and Paradise is true, Hell is true, all the Prophets are true, Muhammad is true, and the Day of Resurrection is true. I surrender (my will) to You. I believe in You and depend on You, repent to You, and with Your help I argue (with my opponents, the non-believers). And I take You as a Judge (to judge between us). Please forgive me my previous and future sins; and whatever I concealed or revealed. And You are the One Who makes (some people) forward and (some) backward. There is none to be worshipped but You.” (Bukhari 2/221, 9/482 and 534)
If you are among those who have read some of the countless distortions written against Islam and the Prophet (p.b.u.h.), time has come that you believe in him as the true Messenger of Allah (S.W.T.) to all humanity. Verily, Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) is the true universal messenger and the final Prophet of Allah. In fact, he is known as the As-Siddiq and Al-‘Amin (the Truthful and the Trustworthy). Many non-Muslims who knew and listened to him during his time, embraced Islam because of his truthfulness. Indeed, Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) is true and he teaches nothing but the Truth. Above all, he teaches us the worship of the One True God, which is the very essence of the true religion, Islam. For your salvation, believe in Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) as the true, final Messenger of Allah (S.W.T.) and believe in the Message with which he was sent. Believe in Islam as the true religion from Allah (S.W.T.). Take admonition from the following authentic Hadith:
“Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (p.b.u.h.) said, ‘By Him in Whose Hand is the life of Muhammad, he amongst the community of Jews or Christians hears about me; but does not affirm his belief in that with which I have been sent (i.e., Islam) and dies in his state (of disbelief), he shall be but one of the denizens of Hell-Fire.’” (Muslim 1/ 284)
The Life of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) Birth and Prophethood:
Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) was born on the twelfth (12) of Rabiul Awwal 53 B.H. (570 A.D of the Christian era) in a noble family of Banu Hashim ancestry. However, he was not fortunate enough to have been born wealthy as he was born an orphan. His father, Abdullah bin Abdul Muttalib, died of sickness at the age of 25 on a trading journey to Syria, leaving his wife Amenah only a few months pregnant. His grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, who was the chief of Makkah at that time, showed pride in him as Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) compensated him for the loss of his son who died in the prime of his youth. His mother showed affection for her son as she awaited the best nurses to come and take care of him: The tradition at that time was that nurses would come from the desert seeking to be the custodians of the children of nobility in return for good pay and gifts. Giving that Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) was not wealthy all nurses turned away from him, Halimah of the Banu Saad tribe was one of them, but when she could not find any other child she was ashamed to return home empty-handed, so she went back and took Muhammad, and since then Allah showered his mercy on her; for instance animals started giving plenty of milk after they had been dry. Therefore, she and her husband felt they were blessed to have taken Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) and became very attached to him. Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) spent five years with Banu Saad during which nothing out of the ordinary happened except one told incident which scared Halimah and became known as “the splitting of his chest.” When he was playing with the other boys Jibril held him, threw him down, split his chest, took out his heart and took out a clump from it and said: “this is Satins portion of you.” Then he washed him in a basin made of gold with the water of Zam Zam, then sealed his chest and returned him where he was. (Anas, Muslim and Ahmed) The boys ran to Halimah and said Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) has been killed. They came back and found him alive but pale. returned to Makkah at the age of five to his mother and grandfather who took good care of him, but the days refused to allow him tranquility among those tender hearts, as his mother died during a visit to Madinah to visit her husband’s grave. She took Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) and his maid Umm Aiman with her. On the way back, she fell very sick and died in Abwaa leaving Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) with Umm Aiman. His grandfather always took good care of him and never left him alone, he took him to all public gatherings. However, at the age of eight, Abdul Muttalib died leaving him into his uncle Abu Talib’s care. Since Abu Talib had many children and was not wealthy, Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) insisted on sharing the burdens of life with him. He went with his uncle on a trading journey to Syria at the age of thirteen. He met a monk called Bahira during the journey who looked at his face and the sign on his back (the sign of Prophethood) and asked Abu Talib: “What is this boy to you?” ‘My son he said.’ “His father should not be alive.” Said Buhira. Abu Talib then said, ‘Yes, in fact he is my brother’s son’ and told him the rest of the story. The monk said “Now you are telling me the truth. Take him back and be careful of the Jews over him.”
Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) then returned to Makkah and resumed his life, working as a shepherd in his early life. He did not acquire knowledge or education from a monk or a philosopher or sorcerer, as was the norm then. Instead he read through the pages of life and took what he found good. He combined the good qualities of discipline with spiritual purity, rightness and contentment. In this manner, he entered his third phase of life and got acquainted with his first wife Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her) who was a merchant woman of nobility and wealth. She had heard of his truthfulness and trustworthiness, so she offered him to take her trade to Syria (before marrying him). He was 25
